Every place on the map is a plot — and from each plot, a picture works outward of the finance around it, the basic needs that go unmet, and the capital within reach. Here’s what a plot is and what it means to hold one.
Open the mapA plot is one area of the Map Around grid — a specific place on Earth you can point to and come back to. But a plot is more than a dot on a map: it’s a starting point. From it, Map Around works outward to take stock of the finance around that place, which basic needs go unmet there, and what capital and institutions are within reach — so any new idea in finance can be measured against the places it would actually serve.
Plots come in a range of sizes, from a house-sized patch up to a region hundreds of kilometres across. Holding a plot means it’s yours to follow and care about: you can learn about it, add your own notes, and watch how it’s doing over time.
Holding a plot is not owning land. It’s not a deed or real estate, gives you no legal rights to the place, and isn’t an asset that appreciates or can be resold.
It’s a connection to a place — closer to a plaque on a park bench or a star named in a registry: recognition and a reason to pay attention, not property.
Globefin is a nonprofit advancing global economic development through financial education and innovation. The thinking behind it is simple: politics is how the world forms its will; finance is how that will gets carried out. The will to meet basic needs is largely already there — what’s missing is the way: financing that reaches the places and people in question. A plot makes that concrete, turning an abstract mission into a specific place and a clear view of what finance is, and isn’t, reaching there. Sponsorships fund the work directly, with 100% of the proceeds going to Globefin’s mission and the data we build for each plot.
Map Around is a joint venture with Photosgraph — the world’s photo album, whose mission is to connect the world through photographs so that everyone is included. The photos on each plot come from Photosgraph, and Photosgraph manages the sponsorships. Two ways of making sure no place is left off the map: one through finance, one through photography.
Open any plot on the map and you’ll find:
Where it is, its size and area (metric and imperial), elevation, hemispheres, and distance from the equator.
Conditions right now — temperature, sky, wind, and local sunrise and sunset.
Photography of what’s actually there, from Photosgraph, plus nearby landmarks.
How the plot’s country is doing on the goals finance serves, with links to the full data.
Once you hold a plot, it becomes a place you can tend:
Everyone gets one free plot — one per person — to claim, personalise, and follow.
About the free plotBack the work by sponsoring a plot at any size, from a small one up to a whole region. 100% funds the mission.
About sponsoring